Apple & Google Go Head To Head For Kodak Patent Portfolio

Neither company has bid anything close to Kodak's $2.6 billion estimate.

Kodak is on the verge of bankruptcy, but in a final bid to raise some cash, the company is selling off its entire patent portfolio. The company believes it could fetch upwards of $2.6 billion, and Apple and Google are going head to head for them. However, neither company has submitted a bid anywhere near Kodak’s estimate.

TheWall Street Journal reports that the opening bids from Apple and Google weigh in at just $150 million and $250 million respectively:

Kodak received two bids from investor groups pitting Silicon Valley giants Apple Inc. and Google Inc. against each other ahead of an auction set for Wednesday, people familiar with the process said. The bids from the two teams came in around $150 million to $250 million, the people said.

But the portfolio may not be as big as Kodak thinks. The company is currently battling Apple in court over ten patent disputes, which could mean the Cupertino company obtains a number of them without having to hand over a penny. It appears, however, that Kodak is coming out on top, winning two of the ten patent suits so far.

As noted by Macgasm, it’ll be interesting if Google wins the auction and obtains some key patents that Apple believes it already owns.